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Ricoh eyes high-end compact camera niche

Camera makers can be pretty cagey about their future plans--maybe they don't want to undermine sales of products with such a fleeting shelf life--so it can be frustrating to try to find out who's interested in meeting the demand for high-end compact cameras that cater to the SLR (single-lens reflex) crowd.

One company that's trying its best to fill that niche is Ricoh, a Japanese manufacturer in the shadow of giants such as Canon and Nikon. But Ricoh has been trying to lure high-end compact camera buyers with its GX100, a 10-megapixel compact camera that features a … Read more

Lightroom remakes photo editing for the better

I didn't fully appreciate how much Adobe Photoshop Lightroom changed how I deal with digital photos until I tried the latest version of the regular Photoshop software, CS3.

I shoot raw images almost all the time, and I wanted to try out the new features of Adobe Camera Raw 4.1 that's available only to Photoshop CS3 users. I like its new "clarity" adjustment, and appreciate more control over sharpening, but trying those tools out felt like a trip back to the stone age.

Lightroom isn't perfect, and it doesn't replace regular Photoshop. But … Read more

Apple update boosts support for Canon 1D Mark III

Apple's update to its operating system Wednesday didn't just fix a security hole. Mac OS X 10.4.10 now also supports raw images from the latest digital cameras, including the Canon's vaunted EOS-1D Mark III.

The update also endows Macs with the ability to decode raw images from the Panasonic DMC-LX1 and LX2; the Leica M8, D-LUX 2 and D-LUX 3; the Fujifilm S5 Pro; and the Nikon D40x.

Raw images are taken directly from higher-end cameras' image sensors without any in-camera processing. They're roughly three times bigger than JPEGs, require processing by software to … Read more

Bibble software gets new SLR support

Bibble Labs on Friday released a new free upgrade to its software for editing raw images from higher-end digital cameras, adding support for the Canon EOS-1D Mark III and several other models.

The new version 4.9.8 of Bibble Pro and Bibble Lite supports ordinary raw files from the high-end Canon SLR (single-lens reflex) camera as well as its new "sraw" format that's half the resolution and one quarter the file size of regular raw images.

The new version also supports the high dynamic range of the new Fujifilm Finepix S5 Pro, the lower-end Nikon D40x and Olympus E-410 and E-510 SLRs, … Read more

Report: Canon ponders new camera file format

Canon is evaluating a new file format for future digital cameras, according to photographer, consultant and blogger Rob Galbraith, posting last week after a trip to Canon headquarters.

"Canon intends to offer a new file format in future digital cameras," Galbraith said, citing Masaya Maeda, Canon's chief executive of operations for image communication products. "The format could be in addition to or in replacement of either JPEG or CR2 RAW, but the company is still studying its options and hasn't committed to any one format as yet."

Camera makers face a complicated balancing act … Read more

Adobe updating raw-image converter for CS3

Adobe plans this week to update Photoshop's plug-in for importing and editing raw images from higher-end digital cameras, adding support for several new digital SLR cameras and improving noise-reduction and sharpening tools. Raw images are taken directly from a camera's image sensor without any in-camera processing, preserving more detail but requiring processing by a person into a more portable format such as JPEG; raw support is typically only available on higher-end cameras.

But the new version 4.1 of the Adobe Camera Raw plug-in tool works only with Photoshop CS3, the San Jose, Calif.-based company's brand-new … Read more

Vista supports Pentax 'raw' camera images

Pentax has released software that lets Windows Vista read and manipulate "raw" images taken directly from higher-end Pentax cameras' image sensors without in-camera processing.

Microsoft announced on its photo blog the availability of the Pentax codec used to encode and decode raw images.

Raw images are popular among professionals and enthusiasts who want more elaborate control over their photography, but supporting raw formats is tough, mostly because there's largely no standard from one camera to the next. Pentax is unusual in digital SLR (single-lens reflex) camera makers in that its high-end model, the K10D, supports Adobe Systems' DNG (digital negative) format … Read more

Sensor sniffs out meat gone bad

So there you are, tooling down the freeway at 100 mph and watching a DVD on your visor when you get the munchies. But you're not sure how long that raw steak has been sitting in your cooler.

So before you pop it in the portable microwave, be sure to pull out your trusty "SensorFresh Q," which Red Ferret describes as an "electronic nose that sniffs out bacteria in uncooked meat." That's fine, but what we really want to know is whether it works on leftover pizza.

Into the Lightroom

Thanks to the efforts of 500,000 digital-imaging enthusiasts and professionals--as well as some folks who actually got paid to work on it--Adobe Lightroom 1.0 today left its beta status behind to begin its new life as a $299 retail software package. Slated for availability in mid-February, early adopters of the raw-workflow tool will be able to snap it up for $199 until April 30.

I spent some quality time with the final software last night, and for the most part like it very much, both for its workflow capabilities and its nondestructive retouching tools. What struck me, however, … Read more